The End of a Glorious Adventure

Tomorrow is my last day in Vienna. Wow. I knew this trip would go fast, but I never imagined that it would go as fast as it did. In a way it feels like I just got here. I have been away from home for over 3 months now. I have no idea what is going on at home and now I am jumping back into it. Vienna, the Schloss and the students have all been my reality, my life and now it is ending. I will never again live in this castle with these people. It feels so sad. I don't even know if I will ever come back to Vienna. I hope to someday. I have become very accustomed to this lifestlye and now it is about to change. When I get home I need to deal with a lot. Things I have been avoiding, like choosing a college for next year. While this all sounds so sad and depressing, there is a positive side. I get to return to a great life! I love being with my friends at Cascade, bringing them home to dinner and being in rehearsals for shows. I have a great supporting family and wonderful friends. I am so excited to return, to see everyone and get millions of hugs:) It is strange how one person can be capable of two completley opposite emotions. I feel like I will go home and love being there, but after 10 days I think I will be ready to go back to the Schloss and get ready for my next ten day. I have seen so much of Europe, but there is still so much more to see! I have to come back some day, I will come back some day. This has been the adventure of a lifetime and I will never forget the lessons I learned or the people I met along the way. I am so very blessed....

The Places I've Been

A Day in Hungary

I didn't have much to do the Friday after Thanksgiving so I decided last minute to go to Budapest for the day. I went with Tiffany and Traci and it turned out to be pretty fun. I am little burned out of traveling everywhere, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity, especially since I am leaving so soon!!! We left the the Schloss at about 7am and took a three hour train ride. On our way we met a really cute old couple from California. They were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in Europe. They told us that they were over here when the Berlin Wall came down in '89 and how everything started to change. When we got to Budapest it was freezing! We spent most of the day outside and it only got colder. I bought a fleece jacket, after that I was wearing seven layers of shirts and coats and I was still cold! I do not know how that is even possible, I guess I will never be a warm one. Oh well. We went to the Christmas markets and tried a really yummy Hungarian pastry that was roasted over a fire. The day went fast, too fast. I know that this next week will go even faster. It's crazy how fast time goes, and it will only go faster from here. Being the optimist that I am, I will try to seize every opportunity that comes my way so I don't miss anything:)

A Walk Through the Woods

This trip is coming to a close faster than I expected. After My second ten day I got back to the Schloss and stepped into chaos. We are having a huge Thanksgiving party and are cleaning and preparing for it all this week. Before all the prep work started I had a free day, it was Monday. There was snow on the ground and I had nothing to do, so I decided to take a walk through the Vienna woods. It was beautiful. Every time I get away from everyone and take a moment for myself, my mind goes insane! I start thinking metaphorically about my past, present and future. Each path I took had an unknown ending and each fork in the road I came to presented a problem. Do I go left or right? Up or down? Will I regret going one way and not the other? will I get lost and not find my way back? At this point in my life there is a lot to wonder about. The woods are directly behind our house and the trails lead uphill. So I decided after a while to just kept going uphill, not having any idea where I was going. I went back up to a meadow I found a few weeks back, where I went to think when I found out about Cascade closing. It was my refuge because it was big and quiet and surrounded by trees with fall colored leaves. It was gorgeous and comforting. When I went back, there was snow on the ground and all the trees were bare. It didn't feel the same. It made me realize that it was a temporary comfort, everything about this trip is temporary. Living in Vienna, in a castle with 47 other students is my current reality and after 3 months I have really gotten used to it. Now its going to change again and never be my reality again. Weird... I am so excited to go home, but I also don't want to leave. I am so torn, in more than one aspect of my life. Torn between choosing Rochester or OC for school next year, torn between Europe and Oregon and torn between my friends here and my friends at home. I just need to be sewn back up! I want answers but I know I won't get them right away. I have to pray. I have to trust.

Second Ten Day!!

This time around I went with my friends Tiffany and Traci to ten places in ten days. We started in Vienna and flew to Naples. I didn't really know what to expect, but I had high hopes. When we got off the bus into the city center there was a torrential down pour, I am not exaggerating. We didn't have any water proof clothing either. The rain was falling hard, and then the thunder and lightning started. Naples apparently isn't the safest city either, and our hostel was in the dangerous part of town. We got temporarily lost but then finally found the hostel. There was garbage everywhere! The garbage men were on strike so there was weeks of garbage on the streets. That night we went to the store and some little punk italian kid came up and hit Traci on the head, for no reason! We were all discouraged and soaked, not liking Naples. However, that night we met Gycela from Columbia and Fiona from Australia. After that everything went great! All five of us went to the ancient ruins of Pompei, the island of Capri, then we took an Italian coastal tour and saw Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento. I swam in the Mediterranean with Traci, it was awesome. Then we took a night train to Milan and spent the next day there. We saw the original Last Supper, it was incredible. That night we flew into Athens. It is one of the biggest cities I have ever been in! It took an hour to get from the airport to the city center. The next day we went to the Acropolis and saw all the major ruin sites in Athens. Then we decided to have lunch on Mars Hill, next to the Acropolis so we still had a panoramic view of the city. And guess who else was there?? Sarah and Mark! and the other couple they travel with, Jordan and Austin. It was awesome! We all had lunch together and then met up again at the Greek sandal shop. The next day we took a ferry to Aegina island and it was the perfect day for it. We took a bus to the most famous beach on the island and had it all to ourselves! Traci and I swam again and the water was even better! We spent the day on the beach and then rest of the time shopping in Athens. It was the most relaxing trip. I really want to go back to Greece, I feel like I could have been there a year and not seen everything there. It just means I have to go back though:) Someday...

Zermatt

So I went to a ski resort town this weekend in Switzerland. I didn't ski because it was super expensive, but I went with my friends Micheal, Matt and Holly to hike it for free. Zermatt is a small town that doesn't even have any cars. There was snow on the ground and a sun in the sky. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been. The Matterhorn Mountain was right above us and we were surrounded by the Swiss Alps. The orange color of the trees contrasted beautifully against the white snow and blue sky. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really was incredible. After our hike we went to lunch and then to a little chocolate shop. Coming back was a hassel though. We left at 6:40pm Saturday night, changed trains about 4 times before we got to Zuruch and then took a night train to Vienna. WE slept in a compartment, it was pretty crowded but I mamaged to get some sleep. Now I am back in Vienna waiting for my next adventure to begin.

When in Rome...Florence and Venice

Italy was just what I imagined! I loved it there. We started our trip in Rome and saw all the main sights; the coliseum, forum, pantheon etc. My favorite was the palantine hill, it had ruins of palaces built centuries ago. Our tour guide was from Portland too, how crazy is that? Next we went to Florence. It was raining there, but I'm used to it. Everyone loved the leather market

and spent a little too much money. After Florence we headed off to Venice which is my personal favorite. I have never been to a place like it before. The first day Sarah and I came upon a bunch of pigeons and played with them, then we saw Christiana! How crazy is that! The second day my friends Kate, Asia, Liz, Randee, Emily and I all went shopping and took a gondola tour down the Grand Canal. It was so relaxing. Then we had dinner on the water, it was a fantastic day. Traveling all around Italy in a week is so tiring! this trip is wearing me out, but in the best way possible:) I love it here but I really do miss being home. I still have Naples and Athens to look forward to! Until next time.

The Shock

So, I wasn't going to write about this but I feel like I should write into words how I have been feeling about Cascade closing. I was very fortunate because my dad called and told me so I wouldn't find out about it on the internet. I am very greatful for that. I'm not going to lie, I was hysterical when I found out. I cried alone in my room for a while and nearly hyperventilated, not wanting anyone to see my tears. Finally I knew I couldn't handle it so I went down to my friends room, where they were having a homework party. I cried in front of them, which i HATE, but they helped comfort me and let me use their computer to make a phone call. After the initial shock and tears and sadness my mind became a little clear. i realized that God has provided me with blessings my entire life. He gave me a wonderful family, friends, boyfriend and school. The school will be gone soon, but He does everything for a reason and I believe that He will continue to provide for me and everyone else affected. This last year I didn't really have a plan for after college so I said that whatever path God chooses for me I will follow. I guess I didn't think it would ever come to this extreme. However I must acccept this as reality, if no miracle occurs. Yesterday I went back to the refugee center to help out with a halloween party for the kids, it helped get my mind off of things for a while. I heard more of the story of a girl named Michelle. Her family life is extremley disturbed. Her mother left her in Austria to take care of her grandfather in Serbia. She is not able to be a good mother because she is always gone, after a few months the grandfather died and the family didnt have enough money for a funeral, so his body stayed in the house for three days before they could move it. Hearing this story puts my life in perspective. I had the priveledge of higher education, and even though this particual college is closing, I still have a bright future, I will never have to suffer the pain and troubles of a family like Michelle's. I still have so much, even though a huge part of my life is being taken away. This is a true test of my faith, never have a been tested to this magnitude. But you know what? God has a plan and will take care of everyone at Cascade. I just know He will, and that fact gives me comfort. I just wish I was home to comfort those at Cascade struggling right now. This is in my prayers everyday, many times a day and all of my friends here are praying as well. I got a few verses from someone very special to me and I thought I would share one of them here: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you can be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4. This verse has really helped me, I hope it will help others as well.

First Ten Day!!

From Vienna to Geneva, to Paris, to Dublin, to Amsterdam, to Brugge and then back to Vienna there are just too many stories to fit into one blog in the amount of time I have. It was a fabulous trip. I went with 5 other girls which I was a little worried about. Girls tend to have a lot of drama and I HATE that kind of drama, but it worked out really nicely.

We spent 8 hours in Geneva waiting for our next train so we couldn't do much there. Next was Paris and it was sunny every day we were there. I saw my favorite artist Renoir's paintings which made me really excited and feel like a nerd. I admit though, and embrace it. We also saw Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. After Paris we flew to Dublin and spent the two shortest days of my life there!! I have to go back, I love Ireland so much and two days was just not enough. We took a day trip out into the country side to a place called Kildare, where we got a private tour of a cathedral that was closed. It was so amazing!! At about 6:30am the next morning we flew back to Paris and got on a train to go to Amsterdam. Our hostel was in the Red Light district. It wasn't my favorite place but we took a bike tour on the only rainy day of our trip and luckily got to see more of the city and some of the country side. Then we headed off for Brugge, which is called the Venice of the North. It was beautiful, we took a canal tour and ate Belgian waffles. Mine had strawberries and whipped cream.... SO good! Our train ride "home" to Vienna was from 7am to 9pm. I get so restless on those trains, but it is worth it. I am really tired and I have a lot to get done before I go to Italy on Friday!!

Missions in Germany

I was told by quite a few of my friends at Cascade to go to Chemnitz if I got the chance. So, I did. I was a little apprehensive at first because we were a group of 18 students and I didn't feel like we could all possibly help out. God has his ways though. When we got there we joined an English bible study and sang English songs! It was so exciting! the next morning we played a few intense games of volleyball, all the kids (and adults) were really good. After that we had a pizza party and went to a castle about 20 minutes away. We played in the leaves and took a couple good pictures (Sarah and I by the castle) that night we went to an area wide song fest and had to sight read songs in German. I stink sight reading in English, so it was quite a challenge. Luckily the lady next to me knew her part so I could follow along. It seemed like we didn't do a lot to actually help the congregation. However there was a 17 year old guy named Alex there. We were told that he is an aspiring professional gymnast. He has been talking to the missionaries (Clint, April and baby Heidi) but he had not come to church on Sunday morning yet. His parents are against the church. Alex really wants to learn more English, so he was very excited that we were coming, so excited in fact that he came to church! the missionaries were very pleased. It goes to show you that even if you feel like your not helping at certain times, God is still using you to bring people to him. That is so encouraging. The church

family is wonderful. There are about 6 Americans and they all have so much fun together. Most of them came over for the Let's Start Talking program, fell in love with the town and people and have stayed there ever since. Coming on these trips really shows me how people can just pick up their lives and move across the country. It is because they literally cannot leave. If God calls me to be a missionary I will go, I want to help so bad! However, all I can do is give support where and when it is needed. I cannot wait for God to reveal His plan for me, whatever it may be.

The Best Day Ever!!

So I went out late on Tuesday night with a group of girls to Cafe Mozart. We got all dressed up and had a cheese platter and hot chocolate. When we got back to the Castle it was a little after midnight. I was on my way to bed when my friend Lani stopped me in the hallway. She said, "hey Brooke, want to go to Bratislava (Slovakia) tomorrow?" I said "yes, that sounds like fun." It was as casual of a question as "hey Brooke, want to go to Taco Bell? So we took a
spontaneous trip to Slovakia. How many times in my life can I do that? We had no idea what was there or what we were going to do. Our train arrived at about noon, then we hopped onto an old bus and took it to the Centrum (town center) It was so incredible! we took a tour on a little red trolly and got to see and learn about the palaces and churches in the area and then we went shopping... If you know me you, you know I love to shop, especially when things are cheap.

In Slovakia 1000 crowns is equal to about 32 euros. I used that 32 euros to pay for transportation, a tour of the city, shopping and dinner. It was all so cheap!! We also didn't have the stress of going to required sights and taking notes. It was glorious, the sun was shining and everyone was in a good mood. The train ride was only an hour so we got back to Vienna at about 8:30. I am offically in love with Europe. I love being able to take a day trip to a completley different country. I will miss it when I leave, but I can't spend too much time away from home.

Mission in Croatia

This last weekend I went to Varazdin, Croatia for my first mission trip! There was a team of 7 of us. The girls stayed with an elderly woman named Ruzita who did not speak any English, and the boys stayed at the church building. Their building is no where near being finished so we helped clean it up. I shoveled out 4 or 5 piles of dust off the floor. On Saturday we put on a three hour VBS for the Croatian kids who also spoke little to no English. Luckily the preacher, Mladen translated. We sang songs and played tag. It was so much fun! In the evenings we walked around the city, found dinner and saw some sights. Worship on Sunday was also amazing. They chose songs that were translated from English so we could recognize the melody and know what we were singing even though the words were in Croatian. This experience helped me realize just how

universal the story of Jesus is. You can get a group of Christians together who do not even speak the same language and still be able to worship with one another. Isn't that amazing!? Every morning we were fed bread and tea that was delicious. I have never eaten so much bread in my life!! that is all they serve! The entire weekend was such a blessing. It was really hard for me to leave knowing how much more work there is to be done. We could only be there for 3 days, it just wasn't enough time. However, if God calls me back to Croatia some day, I will do what He wants. I am so blessed...

(top picture is my team, bottom picture is some of the girls that came for VBS)

Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Oh my goodness, this was one of the most difficult experiences. We saw the place where hundreds and thousands of people were beaten, tortured and killed for no apparent reason. This camp was the last to be liberated in Europe by American soldiers in 1945. the first picture shows the entrance and main courtyard of the camp where hundreds of people were packed in like sardines. The second picture shows a crematorium, when the SS started using these they would burn one body at a time. After some time they began to have a surplus of dead skeletal people, so they would pile at least 10 corpses in each of these with no remorse.

It made me wonder if I would still be a faithful Christrian if I was a prisoner in this camp. I honestly do not think my faith is strong enough. I would like to think it is but I have never had anything to truly test me. I am extremley blessed and I believe in God because I see evidence of His work all around me. What if I didn't see it though? What if I didn't feel His presence at all. People in this camp lost all hope. They were fed no more than five spoonfuls of "soup" every three days, they were hit and worked to the bone, literally. How could they see the face of God? There was some grafitti left that translated to this: "If there is a God, he will have to beg my forgiveness" that really struck me hard. I hope that someday I can aquire a faith strong enough to get through the tough times, even though I know I will never have to suffer as they did. It was a really difficult experience but I learned so much, my only prayer is that this will never happen again.

Retreat in the Austrian Alps

This last weekend we went to a cabin in the mountains for a relaxing break from our "difficult" lives. the first day we were there it was really foggy and we couldn't see anything, Friday or Saturday morning. I couldn't just stay in the cabin
because of it, I had to get out and explore. So my friends Ben, Asia and I took off at about 10:30am and started our hike, not exactly sure where we were going to end up. We took directions from two German ladies and apparently the trail they sent us on is one of the hardest you can take. We were climbing straight uphill for about 2 hours, it was exhausting but worth it. For those of you that knew me in high school, it felt like I was living my On The Verge character only without the corset and Victorian trekking gear. When we finally reached the top the fog had cleared just enough for us to see the Austrian Alps!! I felt compelled to yodel, so I did (not well though.) Then we went to the restaurant on top of the mountain and warmed up. We didn't return to the cabin until about 6pm that night. It was so amazing. The next morning was sunny so I went out to the ridge for another spectacualr view and spent some time with God. Seeing places like the Alps makes you realize just how incredible our God is and just how small we are in comparison. He has provided me with so many opporunities and my goal is to use these opportunities to glorify Him. This really is a life changing trip and I am evjoying every minute that I am not missing home.

Salzburg

The hills were alive with the sound of music and I experienced it first hand!

Salzburg is beautiful. I went with a group of nine other girls, we took the train out Friday morning and came back late Saturday night. When we first got there, a few of us went on the Sound of Music Tour that showed us the filming locations in Salzburg. We saw the gazebo, the house, the lake and the best part was going to see the Austrian countryside. The driver took us out to a little town called Moonsee and it was one of the cutest towns I have ever been in. Each building was a different color and they were all unique, I could definitley live there, but not right now. That night we met new people. A girl named Kelly from New York, and two guys. Chris from Seattle and Micheal from Australia. They were all really nice so we hung out and walked around the city for a while. The next morning we tried to climb up the hill to see the fortress but we had to pay to get in, so I climbed up past the trail and found a great spot to take pictures. After that we went down into the city where the St Rupert Festival and an a river side art fair was going on. My friend Heather and I went shopping for the rest of the day and warmed up by getting hot cocoa in a cafe. We caught a train at 19:08 that night and had a compartment to ourselves like the ones in Harry Potter. It was dark outside and all of a sudden the train stopped. We all got quiet and my friend Michael (a girl) says "There better not be any dementors around here!" It was really funny, but spooky at the same time. Luckily the train started up again and we all kept our souls... yes I know, I'm a nerd. Overall the weekend was very relaxing, I can't wait for my next adventure!

Refugee Center

There is a lady here named Reggy that does a ministry involving refugee kids and families. She has basically created a safe, Christian environment for those in need. the kids are all extremley energetic. A little girl named Michelle, put me in plastic handcuffs and sent me to "jail" another little girl named Karly helped bail me out:) we did this a few times. I also played ping pong with a guy named Thompson from Nigeria. He schooled me, but said I was really good. The little boy on in the picture on the left is named Sydney, he is two and it took me the whole time to get a smile out of him!! He has a twin sister named Shelly. They are both adorable! the picture on the right is of Marcelle. He is the smelliest, most energetic kid I have ever met. He wouldn't let me put him down for about 10 minutes. We played uno poker using candy. Overall it was an amazing expirience and I cannot wait to go next time

Mission Trip Update:

I am head off to Croatia the first weekend of October to help build and repair houses!!

Life is good...

I am feeling much better now so I have truly started expiriencing Vienna!! We are learning German everyday and it has really been beneficial. So Guten Tag! wie geht es inhnen?? gut? gut! (translation good day! how are you? good? good!) Unfortunatley my three years of french training affects my German accent. Oh well. Today I went to H&M for the first time. It is a little more expensive than I was told but it was still fun. This weekend I am heading out to Salzburg with a group of girls and I might go on the Sound of Music tour!! I am having a lot of fun here and in a few weeks I will be in Chemwitz, Germany for my first mission trip! That is all for now, I have homework to do... Auf wiedershenen!

The Castle

This place is amazing!! there is a section of three stories called the dorms that the girls and sponsors are staying. I am on the third floor. The guys are staying on the other side of the Castle in the attic rooms. It is on a hill overlooking the city of Vienna and the entire plot of land is shaped like a ship. there is a baroque garden with really old statues and many rooms to go exploring in. The floors are mostly white marble and there are a lot of big windows. Outside our classroom (which is the ball room) there is a large veranda, I hope to do homework out there sometime soon. It is really warm here to, it ws nearly 80 degress yesterday!! The Vienna woods is really close to us as well. there are a ton of trails right behind us that we are welcome to run on. I havent experienced too much culture shock, but I did get a little sick, that is not fun. I am hoping to feel better soon. Our first class starts today, it will be weird going to school here but I'll get used to it. Until next time!!

LONDON!!!

London was fabulous!! We got in early on Saturday morning and took a two hour walking tour with a Scottish man named Adam. Then we had our required sights such as the Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral (where part of Harry Potter was filmed and where I saw Evensong) Big Ben, Parliament, Tower Hill, Tower Bridge and more. For my free time I splurged on seeing Wicked at the Apollo Theatre. It was by far the best musical I have ever seen!! The set, costumes, acting and singing all blew me a way! We also saw Les Mes as a big group. Our hostel was really nice to, I met two girls Mie and Steena from Denmark, they were really sweet. On one of the free evenings I went shopping at a place called Primark, it was the busiest department store I have ever seen, there was a line of at least fifty people just for the fitting room! It was so chaotic, but I managed to find a dress for 5 pounds, that was exciting. Unfortunatley 5 days was not enough to see everything but it was still so much fun! I hope to go back one day.

Oklahoma

What a culture shock, OC is a completley different world than Cascade. I got in today at about 12:30 and it was really hot and humid. Then later in the night we had rain and a lightning show. We spent about an hour in the car and then finally got to campus. I got to see my friend Deborah, I am living with her for the week and so far it has been pretty fun. However with my lack of sleep and crazy emotions it has been a very tiring day. I have felt overwhelmed so far and a little, no a lot out of place here at OC because Cascade is the place I know and love. This adventure is just beginning and I am really excited to meet everyone else tomorrow:) until next time

Pre- Vienna Feelings

So it is nearing the end of July and my trip is only seven weeks away!!!! AHH! but a good AHH. I am a little nervous when I think about all of this, the orientation week, being "on my own" for three months and leaving people that I care about. However none of those things will keep me from going on this trip. These are the best years of my life and I want to expirience everything I possibly can, even if it is a little nerve racking. I am currently working as a hostess for a nice restaurant raising money for this trip because lets face it, its expensive. The days I'm not at work I am doing homework for my European history class. For a while that was the extent of my life. Work, read, sleep, repeat. Finally I got fed up with that mundane lifestyle and said to myself, "Brooke!! Go see your friends you nerd!" Fortunatley I listened to myself and started hanging out with people again, so my life got a little more balanced. this summer may not be the best, but I know that it will all be worth it. I am so very blessed with this opportunity and I hope everything continues to go well,
until next time....